SQL Server offers superior security, scalability, high availability, and business intelligence. It integrates seamlessly with Windows Authentication and provides robust data encryption. Its capacity to manage petabytes of data with high performance makes it highly scalable. Additionally, SQL Server includes failover clustering and features for business analytics, and it supports integration with various coding languages and tools.

Microsoft SQL Azure is a cloud-based service built on SQL Server. It offers high availability and scalability with minimal administration. SQL Azure supports ADO.NET and ODBC, and can be managed through a web client or SQL Server Management Studio. It is ideal for remote and mobile data access.

SQL Server can be self-hosted or outsourced. Outsourcing is economical and reduces maintenance and licensing costs. SQL Azure is a robust cloud-based platform for SQL Server hosting with certain limitations. Hosting flexibility depends on the specific needs of the project.

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), starting with SQL Server 2005, is a web-based reporting engine supporting parameterized reports, report subscriptions, and custom security. It can export reports in various formats and integrates with SharePoint for reporting.

SQL Server 2008 and later versions support Spatial data, including planar and geodetic data types. It integrates with location-aware services, allowing storage and retrieval of map and location data directly in the database.

SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) facilitate data integration and transformation from various sources. The Enterprise Edition of SQL Server offers advanced features like data mining and SAP integration. Standard Import/Export Wizard handles common data integration tasks.

SQL Server Compact is suitable for mobile device applications, supporting standalone and intermittently connected applications with synchronization capabilities. It is ideal for fieldwork applications with two-way data synchronization.

SQL Server Compact is free for both use and distribution. It is suitable for mobile devices, desktops, and web applications. It provides transactional support, referential integrity, merge replication, and ADO.NET and LINQ support, and integrates with Visual Studio and WebMatrix.